MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold talks by phone with his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan later on Thursday, the Kremlin said, before the two countries mark the inauguration of Turkey’s first nuclear power reactor.
The Akkuyu nuclear power plant in Turkey’s southern Mersin province has been built by Russia’s state nuclear energy company Rosatom.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a regular news briefing that after their telephone conversation the two presidents would take part – virtually – in a ceremony marking the loading of nuclear fuel into the first power unit at Akkuyu.
The $20 billion, 4,800 megawatt (MW) project to build four reactors in the Mediterranean town of Akkuyu will allow Turkey to join the small club of nations with civil nuclear energy.
Asked about reported health problems which Erdogan is suffering from, Peskov said Moscow knew nothing of the issue.
Turkey faces landmark presidential and parliamentary elections on May 14. But Erdogan cancelled his campaign rallies scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday for health reasons.
Erkan Kandemir, AK Party deputy chair, said on Wednesday that Erdogan would attend the ceremony at the Akkuyu nuclear power plant in the southern Mersin province via video link.
(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Gareth Jones; Editing by Andrew Osborn)
